7teen: Tracks to the Max
by Dakari-King Mykan
Summary: Ep 16: MAIN PLOT: One night, Jude persuade Mykan to re live one of his old memories, and they both hop on a frieght train and ride the rails. SUBPLOT: Jonesy thinks he doesn't need sleep to be a night watchman.
1. Intro

**INTRO**

Another day for Jude at _Stick-It,_ even though managing both it and the Ice-Rink were cool to him, and he kept Stick-It a lot cleaner now, today… he was feeling just a little bored.

Even as Jen and Jonesy passed by, "Hey.... guess what I am."

Jen took one look at the way Jude was sitting, "Is it something that starts with _Lay…_ and ends with _About…?"_

Jude winked at her, "Cheap shot, bra." Then he asked if Jonesy got the job. "Oh, yeah I did. You are looking at new night watchman for the mall."

Jen raised an eyebrow, "You get to stay up all night, and patrol the mall in case of robbers breaking in?" she asked, "What's so great about that…?"

Her step-brother explained that it meant he didn't have to work at all the whole day, and he wouldn't have to go home at closing. "So… in other words, you get to do what you want all day long and not worry about being fired." Jude said. "Du-hu-hude…"

"Jude…!"

And they bopped their fists. Jen however was not impressed, "Uh, Jonesy… don't you think you should go home and get some rest?"

Her step-brother certainly did not think so, "Look at me, do I even look tired…? I don't think so… besides, only nerds and wusses have naps in the daytime." Then he walked off to meet up with Nikki.

Jen then made a little bet with Jude, "Five bucks says he gets fired tonight…?"

Jude gave her his money, "Sweet…!"

…

"_**Intro Theme"**_

_**Jonesy… Caitlin… Wyatt… Jen… Jude… Nikki… Mykan**_

_**Jonesy… Caitlin… Wyatt… Jen… Jude… Nikki… Mykan**_

_Now that we're through with school.  
__We get to make all the rules.  
__Spend more time with all my friends…  
__Always hangin' together…  
__In a place where we grew up…!_

_I'm 7teen…  
__I have found my own way.  
__I love my job.  
__And I live at the mall today.  
__And I… am on my own now and forever…_

_I'm… 7teen… life was sweet.  
__Though we grew up way to fast…  
__Still the memories will last._

_**Jonesy… Caitlin… Wyatt… Jen… Jude… Nikki… Mykan**_

_**1… 2… 3… 4… 5… 6…**_

_I'm 7teen… 7TEEN!  
__Still the memories will last._

_**Jonesy… Caitlin… Wyatt… Jen… Jude… Nikki… Mykan**_

"_**7TEEN!"**_


	2. Train Hop

_**Author's notes:**_

_**For those who don't recall…**_

_**Mykan is only a fictional character I made and gave my penname, and nothing more. He's not me at all, nor is he related to me. It's all fiction…**_

**CHAPTER ONE**

The next day, everyone met up at The Lemon, except for Jonesy. We all had heard of his new job, and now we were waiting for Jen to give us the 411. Jonesy had only gotten so much as two hours of sleep, as he got home at 5:30, and had to get up again at 7:30.

Jen explained that her stepbrother was already looking a little tired, but he still wouldn't admit it, even when, "This morning, he mistook the salt for sugar, and a potted plant for his oatmeal."

Each of us laughed softly, "And so it begins." Nikki joked. It was after that moment that Jonesy finally made it to the table, and he did indeed look a little sleepy, but not exhausted…

He did however let out a huge yawn, "What a night…?" he said through his yawn. "The mall seems way larger without all the people in it."

Wyatt noticed the large bags starting to form under Jonesy's eyes. "Have you looked in a mirror lately…?"

Jonesy raised an eyebrow, "Uh, no…and why?"

Caitlin pulled out her powder pack. "You've got bags under your eyes." she pointed out as she showed him his reflection. Jonesy saw the bags but immediately went into denial. "Those aren't bags…" he insisted.

"Oh, and what are they…?" Nikki asked. Her boyfriend insisted they were just scorch-marks from rubbing his eyes too much. "I'm going to go flash some water on my face, and clean them off."

The rest of us all laughed again. Unfortunately, Jen realized that since Jonesy hadn't lost his job yet, she owed Jude five-bucks. "Here you go, Jude…" she said as she passed him the bill, but Jude hardly looked up.

"Uh… Jude…?" I said to him. "Yo, Jude…!"

He finally snapped to. "Sorry… I was zoned-out." he said. He held up his wallet and showed us he was looking at several pictures. "Just lookin' down memory lane."

We all moved in closer. "Oh, here… this is when my folks and I climbed up mount Everest."

I took the photograph to look at it more closely. "Climbing…? Jude… you look upside-down in this."

Jude nodded, "I am upside down. My dad too this picture standing on his head and I was standing on my head too."

We all fell in awe, "Gee you're dad must have a steady hand." said Caitlin.

Wyatt held up another photo. "What are you doing in this barrel…?"

"Ah… there I was getting ready to go down Niagara Falls."

"_WHAT…?!?" _we all shouted. The fact that Jude prepared to do something suicidal as that. "I know… but it was AWE-SOME…!"

As we kept on looking through Jude's posters, we thought it was amazing that he got to do so many exciting things. Most of the others didn't feel their lives were all that risky and dangerous. Other than facing the Zombites… that was too dangerous and nearly cost us our lives.

"What about you Mykan…?" Jen asked. "Haven't you taken any risks before."

"Me…? Oh, sure…" I answered. "I've had my share of living on the edge, lost of times."

Nikki giggled, "Yeah, we know. Wyatt once told us you lived on the edge of town." She joked. Wyatt and she slapped a high five. I, however cast a straight look at Nikki. "Now you listen here, missy…" I said as I walked towards her to sit at Jonesy's seat. "There's still plenty about me that you guys don't know… and probably shouldn't know."

"Ooh… like what?" Caitlin asked. I tried to brush it off, but soon the rest of the gang wanted me to spill it. "Oh, well…" I paused. "Well… when I was nine, my brother, Danny, and I… we hopped a freight-train and we took it all the way across the whole country."

"No Way… dude…!" cried Jude.

"You're kidding…?" cried Jen.

"What did you guys do for money?" asked Wyatt.

I explained that my brother and I did odd-jobs; like sweeping floors, washing dishes, I even played a keyboard for panhandling. "It's how I entered the lifestyles of the work-force, and it's how I can take care of Comic-Cavern without hiring employees."

"Dude… that is so awesome…!" cried Jude.

I got up, "Well, that's all behind me now, still… the memory lives on." Just then, my watch beeped. "Whoop… better get back to work. The store needs her boss after all."

"I'm gone too…" Nikki said.

Jen, Wyatt, and Jude left as well, leaving Caitlin by herself. "Ahh… alone again." she sighed, but just then, a long like of soccer-boys lined up for some lemon-smoothies. She fluttered her eyes that maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all.

…

Before anyone knew it, the mall was getting ready to close soon. I had already locked up Comic-Cavern, and was ready to head home when I saw Jude up ahead looking through the window of the toy-store, at the train sets. "Hey, Jude… what are you doing here?"

Jude explained he was feeling bored so he thought he watch the trains. "Hey, is that the kinda' train you and your bro used to hop?" he asked.

"Well… the others were bigger, and of course they didn't run around in circles…but basically yeah." It was strange for me. Just looking at those trains brought me back so many memories.

"How'd ya do it…?" Jude asked. "How did you get one the train…?"

I explained to Jude that what brother and did was… We hid in the train-yard, we would hide in shrubs until dark, "And then when we saw the train pulling out, we'd run after it before it went too fast."

"Cool…!" Jude exclaimed. He gazed back at the trains, "How'd you dudes eat? Where's the kitchen car…?"

I laughed softly, "Jude there was no kitchen-car. Not on a freight-train." I said. "My brother and I said in the boxcar, we ate, beans, canned cold pastas and soups, that's how we got our travelers names."

"Bean-Pasta-Soup man…?"

My eyes rolled, "No… _"The Boxcar Boys."_

Jude felt so amazed by this, he actually bowed at me as if I were a God. "I am not worthy! I am not worthy!" he cried.

I felt a little embarrassed, but then Nikki came along. "Hey… window-shopping for toys?" she joked.

I sighed. "So, is Jonesy going to walk you home?" I asked. "Gonna'… ya know'… heat up the under the stars…?"

Nikki playfully slapped my arm for that. "Nah… he's got work tonight, but I'm starting to get a little worried, he's hardly gotten any sleep at all, and he has to stay up for six hours tonight."

That's when Jonesy walked past us all with his uniform on, carrying his flashlight, and the bags under his eyes looked bigger than ever. "Uh… Jonesy…?" I called. Jonesy just yawned very deeply and kept going.

Nikki felt really worried about her boyfriend, "Ah well… its his loss. Catch you guys later…" she said and then she was gone. Jude finally got up. "She's gone… now's our chance."

I looked confused, "Chance? Chance for what?"

Jude explained that he couldn't contain himself, and he wanted to sneak down to the railroad-tacks. "I gotta' see it for myself, Dude… just this once."

I really didn't think he was in the right frame of mind, "Jude… don't be silly. What reason should we have to sneak into the train yard?"

Jude pulled out every convincing loophole he could name, and I caved-in. "Promise you'll shut-up… and I'll take you."

We slapped a high five and we went off.

…

A few blocks away from the mall, the train yard was dark, and quiet. It was even a little breezy too as Jude and walked along the rails near a hoard of bushes. My insides were going crazy with delight, "Man… there's nothing like a train yard at night."

Jude agreed, "It's so peaceful here." But then suddenly the tracks rumbled and the loud blaring of a horn shot near us. "WHA-HA-HAA… What's that?"

I chuckled, "Jude… that's the train."

"What makes the one you rode look like a toy?" replied Jude.

Suddenly, I could see a small light, and heard a voice call out, _"Hey, who's out there…?"_

"Uh-oh! It's the guard!" I cried.

"You mean that tall, fat dude with the seein' eye dog?" Jude asked.

I peeked through the bushes. "No—that's no seeing eye dog…" I whimpered. "It's a Dover-men Pincher!"

Jude leapt up and began to run for it, "Don't let him pinch me!" he cried.

"Jude…! Jude… wait!" I called as I ran after him.

…

"Hey…! Get away from that train!" the guard yelled. His dog barked angrily. Jude was already hopped aboard in the boxcar as the train began to pull out. "Jude…!" I cried as I dashed as fast as I could. "Jude… get out of there!"

The train began to go faster, almost too fast for me to catch up to. "Run Boxcar, run!" cried Jude. I dashed with all my might and made it onto the boxcar. "All aboard…!" replied Jude. "Dude… I always wanted to say that.

"Well you got your wish." I sneered at him.

"And you got yours, Dude. We're ridin' the rails. Isn't is awesome…?"

"No it's not…!" I groaned as I got to my feet and felt the breeze going past the doorway. "Oh, no…! Now the train's going too fast. We can't get off."

The worst part was, I left my cell-phone in my car. Jude has his with him, but the batteries were dead, and even if they weren't, the speed and distance we were going badly cut the signal. "Dude… you're acting like this is my fault."

"Well isn't it…?" I scoffed.

"I was hoping we could share…"

I leaned against he wooden-walls and sagged down to the floor as the train continued to carry me and Jude off into the night.


	3. Confession Depression

**CHAPTER TWO**

Back in town, the others were all at home, except for Jonesy who was still at the mall on patrol. Nikki was still worried about him. To make matters worse, she and the others had been trying to call me and Jude all night., but we didn't answer our cell-phones, and Jude's parents said that Jude wasn't home. I lived on my own across the street from the mall, and all they got was my answering machine.

"Gee… it's not like them t not head home like this." Wyatt said.

Caitlin began to fret, "You don't think maybe… something…. happened to them?"

"Caitlin, calm down." said Jen. "Wherever they are, they look after themselves." Then she suddenly realized what she was saying. She knew I could handle myself, but Jude… "Oh my gosh…!"

Nikki was more worried about Jonesy though. "For once, I'm actually hoping he gets fired." she said, "He's going to drive himself crazy if he stays awake for this long."

…

At the mall, only the emergency lights were on, making it pretty dark inside. Jonesy walked up and down, all across the empty corridors. Luckily he still had his copy of the Master-Key when he worked for he Rent-A-Cop, so at least he could get into _Grind-Me_ for a coffee to help keep him awake.

Ron almost caught Jonesy slacking off three times. "Get back to patrol soldier. Now, now…!" he bellowed, and Jonesy would scuttle off like a frightened mouse. "Aww man… I can't take much more of this." he groaned.

He was starting to think maybe we were all right about warning him that he needed his sleep to be a proper watchman. Jonesy let out a huge yawn and continued on his patrol.

…

Meanwhile, the train had already carried me and Jude away from Edmonton-City, and we were now out in the open country. "Think Jonesy's gotten fired yet?" Jude asked. I just shot him a straight look as I was still upset about this whole thing.

Jude winced softly, "O-kay then…" replied Jude. "Look, maybe hoppin' the train _was_ a bad idea, Mykan."

"Maybe…?" I snapped. "Maybe…? Jude, what ever possessed you to do such a thing…?"

Jude explained to me, again, that he couldn't help himself. "Ya' made ridin' the rails sound like fun."

I began to lighten up a bit. "Well… I guess as long as we're here we may as well enjoy ourselves."

"Right on, Dude…"Jude then suggested we crack open a can of beans, or cold pasta, or soup. "Uh, Jude…" I regretted to say, "We don't have any canned foods. _I brought them_ with me when I did this."

Jude smacked his forehead, "Aww, man…!"

I suggested that we look out the doorway and watch the world go by. "Dude… it's dark out."

I sighed irritably. "Let's just stare at the darkness then."

Jude decided he could deal with it, and we both just stared out the door. Suddenly, we heard a voice from behind the crates. _"Gravel Gus. Caboose Carl… is that you?"_

Jude and I stood up, and out popped a hobo. "Uh… no, we're not Gravel Gus, and Caboose Carl." I said to dusty man.

The hobo got a better look at us. "You two aren't hobos. You're not uh… you know… homos… are ya'?"

Jude and I felt a little embarrassed. "No way, Dude… we both got lady-friends. Straight as they come."

The hobo smiled, "Hey… that's what I like; good honesty." Then he shook hands with me, "The name's _Muddy Mort."_

"How's it going? I'm Mykan Spotswood, and this is Jude Lizowski."

"What up, Dude…?" Jude said, "Where'd ya get a name like Muddy? Is it cause' of your clothes, or your voice?"

Mort chuckled. "Nah… it's because the first four times I tried to hop a train I landed facedown in the mud."

Jude and I cast looks of concern. "That had to hurt." I said.

"Nah… but it is muddy and gooey." replied Mort. Then he reached into his sack, "Hey you guys want some beans…?"

Jude and I slapped each other a high five thinking be had gotten our break, when along came a spider, and crawled near Mort. "Ahh… Spider! Don't let him bite me… YARGH…!" and he leapt out the door.

"Du-hu-hude…!" Jude cried in concern, "Is he alright…?"

I grabbed onto the handled and peered out the doorway. "Well… he landed facedown in the mud."

Jude was starting to really get annoyed. "All I wanted was to ride the rails and eat beans out of a can."

I sighed as I pulled myself back inside, "Jude will you stop whining. I'm getting tired of it."

"Well, hey… I got nothin' better to do." replied Jude. Then suddenly, the train turned along a small curve, and Both Jude and I collided into each other. "Ow… watch it Dude!" Jude groaned. I felt okay, but Jude had a little bruise on his forehead. I offered to look at it, "Don't touch it." he snarled at me.

I growled as I sat down on a crate, "Jude…! You know for someone like you, who's had many shares excitement in his life, and did some crazy things, climbed Mt. Everest standing on his head…You are an incredible, whiner."

Jude's anger began to fade into shame. "Uh, about that…" he paused, "…I never climbed Mt. Everest. I never climbed a mountain ever."

I turned to face him, "What are you talking about? I saw you in that picture."

Jude shook his head, admitting it was fake. "It was taking at the mall's theme-park. I stuck my head through one of those wooden cutouts, and then I edited it with a computer."

"Well then, what about Niagara-Falls…?" I asked

Jude told me that it was also a fake. "Me and Starr were being just bein' goofy. We snuck into a photographer's studio and faked the whole thing."

When I asked Jude why he would fake his photos like that, Jude explained that he didn't want to seem boring. Sure he took a lot of risks and got into mischief, but he still saw himself as boring and square, compared to the rest of the gang and me anyways…

"The only most exciting thing that ever happened to me was the Zombites, but that's somethin' I don't like to mention."

"This was all back when you and Starr broke up. Right…?" I asked.

Jude nodded, and went on to tell me about how much fun he and Starr had, and how lucky he felt to have her back in his life. He gazed out the door, and looked up at the sky. "Of all the girlfriends I ever had… they also came with many let downs… but I realized, A dude like me has to live life to the fullest. No matter how bad, sad, or glad it may be."

He reached into his wallet, and pulled out a picture of him and Starr. She had her arms round his and, and stood on one skate. Jude sighed heavenly. I knew how he felt, only if Amelie was ever to dump me… I don't know what I'd do.

But it wouldn't be pretty…

I peeked through the door, "Jude look! A shooting star. Make a wish."

Jude held the picture close to his heart, and shut his eyes for moment. "Well… what did you wish for…?" I asked. Jude decided to tell me, because there was no way this of his would come true…

"I wished… that Starr and I never broke up, and I wouldn't be haunted by the Zombites anymore."

"Oh, Jude…"

Jude looked really bummed for the first time since I knew him.


	4. From Edmonton Bound

**CHAPTER THREE**

The train was still rolling through the night. Jude and I sat on a blanket over a hay-pile, away from the doorway where it was getting cold. Jude was still a little depressed…

"Aw, cheer up, Jude…" I said to him. "At least the Zombites are gone, and you and Starr are together again. Who knows…? Maybe you'll stay together, maybe you'll get a little older, get married, have a couple kids, and that stuff…"

Jude smiled, "Yeah… that'd be awesome, but I don't wanna' consider panickin' over it" Then he asked about me and Amelie, "Ya' know… you two are kind hot together. Ya' ever thinkin' of takin' the plunge with her…?"

I felt a little embarrassed, "Well… it looks like it, and between you and me I hope she and I do, one day."

I explained that I honestly never thought I would ever meet Amelie, or any girl at that. After my alcoholic, abusive father was thrown in the nuthouse for life, "Well I guess you remember… I was… Anti-social and I had Caligynephobia-- I was afraid of pretty girls."

I even told Jude that sometimes both my brother and I decided we wanted a little excitement in our lives, rather the jump into things we didn't think we were ready for. "That's when we started rail-ridding."

Jude then wondered, "What made ya' stop?"

I explained, while working to get back home. My brother and I were working in a restaurant together, Danny was sixteen, and I was still nine. That's when he met Sophie… she was just a waitress who felt sensitive about how people saw her.

Before I saw it, I knew my brother was falling in love, and he seemed really happy. Something I never understood then. Then after we went back home they met up again a couple of years after that and started a relationship.

"And then came your falling out…?" Jude asked.

I felt ashamed the way I treated my brother, and Sophie. They tried to help me and I got a restraining order on them. "When I met Amelie… I never thought she'd actually like me. Heh… but I guess… love works in mysterious ways."

"Right on, bro…"

We bopped fists and then stretched out for a little nap as the train carried us through the night.

…

While back at the mall…

It was half past ten, and Jonesy's eyes were red, and the backs under his eyes had become bold-colored. "Ooh…" he groaned. His footsteps were starting to sound like a T-Rex's in a dinosaur movie.

He headed for the elevator to go down to the next floor. The doors closed, above, but when they opened up again, he was sound asleep on the floor. Ron was there, fit as a fiddle, but he was not at all impressed by seeing Jonesy asleep…

"What's going on here?" he bellowed. "Sleepin' on the job, son. This is dereliction of duty! What have you got to say for yourself, maggot?"

Jonesy just snored and rolled over. Ron wrote Jonesy a huge ticket, "Hope you enjoy your nap. You are so off the force for this when you get up."

…

A while later, the train finally began to slow down, and Jude and I got off. We were at least hundred miles away from Edmonton though.

We headed along a road and found a bonfire pit, and would you believe, a discarded cigarette lighter, and plenty of wood. Jude had a big fire roaring by the time I had returned. "Well… I found a little mini-mart up the road." I said to him. "I called Jen… she and her folks will come to pick us up in a couple of hours."

"A couple hours…?" Jude asked. "What are we supposed to do until then?"

I reached into the shopping bag I had and pulled out cans of, "Beans! Cold pasta, and soup."

"Let's eat…!" I said as I passed Jude a can, and can-opener, and a spoon. "You know, Jude…" I said as I ate my soup. "I really had a lot of fun tonight, reliving my old days. Thanks a bundle…"

Jude wiped the beans from his face. "We'll do it again sometime?"

I didn't answer, but I felt pretty confident that maybe we would one day.

…

The next morning, we were home, and gathered at The Lemon. Jude and I finished telling he story of last night, though Jude exaggerated a little…

"That must've been some adventure." Caitlin said.

"Maybe I oughta' hop a train some day." added Wyatt.

I waved my hand, "Meh, no big deal. I'm just glad its over now, and we're home."

That's when Jonesy walked over to the table, with a serious case of bed-head. "Wow… someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Jen teased.

To our surprise, Jonesy admitted he woke up in the mall. "Ron caught me sleeping in the elevator… and… I got fired."

"Well look on the bright side…" said Nikki. "At least you can get some rest now… and don't let me catch you doing anything this stupid ever again." she hissed.

"Wow… touchy." Her boyfriend teased, but he knew she was right. "I better just stick to daytime jobs. It fits in better with my timing."

Jude nodded, "And if you can't find a job, maybe you can become a hobo. Just so long as you don't fall in the mud."

Jen giggled, "Trust me… even as a hobo, I think Jonesy would defiantly get fired."

We all shared a laugh, except for Jonesy had fallen asleep with his head on the table.

…

_**Author's notes:**_

_**I thought instead, Jude and Mykan should sing this song for the outro…**_

…

Jude and I never forgot the night we hopped that train. There were moments that were… "Dare I say fun…?"

_**(Music cue)**_

_**(Both)**_

_We're off on the road from Edmonton.  
__We're having the time of our lives._

_**(Mykan)**_

_We're quite a pair of partners,  
__Just like Thelma and Louise.  
__Except you're not six feet tall…_

_**(Jude)**_

"Oh yeah…" _and your breasts don't reach your knees._

_**(Both)**_

_We're off on the road from Edmonton.  
__We're certainly going in style._

_**(Mykan)**_

_I'm with an intellectual  
__Who'd rather pee his pants._

_**(Jude)**_

"Not funny…!" _But at least I don't get vengeance  
__like when going off on rants._

_**(Both)**_

_We've traveled a bit, and we've found…  
__Like a massive kick to elsewhere…_

_We're from Edmonton bound._

"Crazy travel condition huh, Jude."

"Ahh… first class and no class, Dude."

"Whoa, careful with that joke, it's an antique."

_**(Both)**_

_We're off on the road from Edmonton.  
__We're not gonna stop 'till we're there._

_**(Mykan)**_

"Maybe for a chill…"

_Whatever dangers we may face  
__We'll never fear or cry._

_**(Jude)**_

"No way…"

_Until we're sure that Teletoon  
__will never let us die._

"Please…?"

_**(Both)**_

_We're off on the road from Edmonton.  
__The home of that old campus swing_

_**(Mykan)**_

_We would pick so college girls  
__And picnic on the grass._

_**(Jude)**_

_But then our girlfriends back at home  
__Will kill us at the pass._

_**(Both)**_

_We certainly do get around…_

"Like a bunch of renegade pilgrims who were thrown out of Plymouth colony"

_We're from Edmonton bound_

"Or… like a group of college freshmen, who were rejected by Harvard and forced to go to Brown."

_We're from Edmon-ton Bound…!_

…

"_**7TEEN"**_


End file.
